OHS Soccer Places Runner-Up in the District Tournament
After a long season of countless games and practices, post season play is finally among us. Last week during Fall Break, Owensboro, Apollo, Daviess County, and Catholic battled to become the champions of the District Tournament.
On Monday, October 8th, Owensboro played Apollo to move on to the championship game. These two teams have been even all year, as Owensboro lost the first game 0-1 and won the second game 1-0. So, the first match of the District Tournament was highly anticipated.
Regular playing time ended scorelessly as both teams defended aggressively and played consistently. Overall Owensboro was the dominant team, having numerous shots and the majority of possession. The game couldn’t end in a tie, so the teams played in golden goal extra time, meaning that the first goal wins out of two five minute halves.
In the first half, both teams fought tirelessly to put the ball in the net, but neither was successful, moving onto the second half. Coach Ryan Haley was excited and confident in his team, sure that the game wouldn’t end in penalty kicks. Junior Paxton Jenkins scored off of a cross from Junior Andrew Saltsman to score the winning goal. The team rushed the field and tackled Jenkins in excitement.
Owensboro then moved on the play Daviess County in the District Championship game. The Devils were looking to finally beat out Daviess County for the District title, given that the Panthers have won for five consecutive years.
The Devils came out strong in both halves, working the ball possessively and playing aggressively. However, as time went on and with Daviess County’s style of play, Owensboro’s effort deteriorated towards the end of each half. The Panthers scored three goals in the first half and two goals in the second, ending the game 5-0. Daviess County was yet again District Champions.
After the game, the All-District team was called. Each coach voted on the best players in the District based on regular season play. The Devils had many players on the All-District team: Grayson McFarland(11), Paxton Jenkins(11), Andrew Saltsman(11), Kevin Payne(11), and Austin Sovar(12).
Owensboro was the runner-up of the District, so they moved on to the Regional Tournament. This started on Monday, October 15th, as Owensboro played against and defeated Meade County.
